23 December 2011
Fletchers Group of Bakeries has committed to a radical revamp of its waste and recycling policies.
The company is taking steps to cut its waste - and the resulting CO2 emissions – with a strategy that will see it aiming for waste from across all four sites to go to an incinerator to be burned for energy or be recycled rather than end up in landfill.
The ultimate aim is for Fletchers Group to be able to announce a “Zero to Landfill” waste management policy by the end of 2012.
All waste from the Fletchers site in Sheffield, Grain D’Or and LBD is currently already incinerated. At Kara 65% of waste is recycled and 30% burned for energy, with only 5% going to landfill.
Steve Boyd, human resources director, said: “Fletchers Group is a company that takes its environmental responsibilities seriously. As soon as we looked into the advantages of using waste-to-energy (WTE) facilities, we were sold on the idea.
“It has been estimated that one ton of municipal solid waste that is combusted rather than sent to landfill reduces greenhouse gas emissions by one ton of carbon dioxide, as well as cutting oil use by 35 gallons.”
Fletchers Group is also looking at ways to reduce the amount of general waste by recycling as much as possible. Steps are being taken to start to capture plastic, paper and card at various points across the sites and stream them to recycling points.
Elsewhere, the purchasing team is exploring ways to reduce the weight of the company’s card, plastic, film and foil packaging.
ENDS